Tranzactionz

Some tranzactionz for you:

Released

July 22: The Astros released Yordany Ramirez

Ramirez game to the Astros' organization in 2008 as a shortstop, but was moved to pitcher in 2010, where he posted a 4.76 ERA/1.94 WHIP for Lexington in 5.2IP. In 2011, between Lexington and Lancaster, he had a 10.41 ERA/2.28 WHIP in 32IP, allowing 45H/37ER, 20K:28BB.

Sent Down

July 23: OKC sent Brandon Barnes to Corpus
July 23: Lexington sent Murilo Gouvea to Tri-City
July 24: Corpus send Kyle Greenwalt to Lancaster

In 71 games for OKC, Barnes hit .197/.294/.402, with 69K:29BB.
In 27 games for Corpus, Greenwalt allowed 90H/58ER in 66.2IP, with 44K:17BB for a 7.83 ERA/1.61 WHIP, allowing 2.0 homers per 9IP.

DL Moves

July 23: Corpus placed Jose Vallejo on DL
July 24: Lancaster activated Austin Wates

Tranzactionz!

Lots of transactions over the course of the last couple of days.

May 11

*Lancaster placed pitcher Jose Trinidad on the 7-day DL.
*David Carpenter brought up to OKC from Corpus.

May 12

*Lexington sent Yordany Ramirez to Lancaster, bringing up catcher Ryan McCurdy from Tri-City.
*OKC activated Doug Arguello from the 7-Day DL.

May 13

*Legends place Tanner Bushue on the 7-Day DL, activating Enrique Hernandez from the same.
*Corpus activated Dallas Keuchel from the 7-Day DL.
*Oklahoma City sent Erick Abreu back to Corpus.

May 14
*Lexington sent Brad Dydalewicz to Tri-City, bringing up Garrett Bullock to take his place.
*Lancaster placed pitcher Wes Musick on the 7-Day DL, and Corpus sent Our Boy Andrew Robinson to Lancaster to take his place.

Eddie's Farm: April 30

Oklahoma City (8-14)

New Orleans got a pinch-hit homer in the 8th inning to provide a 5-4 win over OKC. Sergio Perez threw 4.1IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB (with a balk, and two errors). Gustavo Chacin allowed 3H/1ER in 1IP, Andy Van Hekken threw a scoreless outing, and Fernando Rodriguez gave up the late HR for the loss.

Carlos Corporan was 2x4 with a double and an RBI, and Brandon Barnes was 2x4 with a two run homer - his first at Triple-A. Jose Vallejo also hit his first homer of the season. Oswaldo Navarro had a hit and a walk.

Man of the Match: Brandon Barnes

Corpus (9-13)

Frisco hit three homers for a 5-3 win over Corpus. Jonnathan Aristil threw 5.2IP, 5H/3ER, 5K:3BB while Patrick Urckfitz got the loss, even though the 2-run homer in the 8th came courtesy of David Carpenter.

David Flores was 2x4 with a two-run homer, while Brian Esposito provided the other RBI.

Man of the Match: David Flores

Lancaster (11-12)

Lancaster scored a run in the top of the 10th on Kody Hinze's single for a 5-4 win. Robby Donovan threw 6IP, 4H/2ER, 4K:3BB; Zach Grimmett got the BS/W with 3IP, 4H/1ER, 3K:0BB, and Kirk Clark notched his 8th save of the season.

Jonathan Meyer was 3x5 with a double, while Austin Wates (BB, 2SB), Kody Hinze (2RBI, BB), and Jake Goebbert had two hits each. Jose Altuve snapped his 9-game hitting streak with an 0x4.

Man of the Match: Kody Hinze

Lexington (12-11)

Augusta jumped on Lexington early and rode it out for a 5-1 win. Mike Foltynewicz threw 5.2IP, 6H/5ER, 3K:1BB, 2HBP; Yordany Ramirez got his first appearance, throwing 1.1IP and striking out three. David Martinez threw 2IP, allowing 0H/0ER.

Jiovanni Mier was 2x4 with a double, while Tyler Burnett and Dan Adamson also added two hits each, with Adamson getting plunked twice.

Man of the Match: Yordany Ramirez!

Tranzactionz: April 30

Alright, we have it on good authority (and through the simple act of noting that Levine mentioned yesterday that Yordany was in Lexington) that Murilo Gouvea has been sent to what would be Tri-City, and former outfielder-now-pitcher Yordany Ramirez has been activated and sent to Lexington.

Gouvea, in 8IP (4G), allowed 10H/5ER, with 10K:4BB in Lexington this season. He's always been a strikeout machine, averaging 10.6 K/9 in his career, but also with 4.5 BB/9 and 9.6 H/9 to go along with it.

Astros re-sign Yordany Ramirez, others

Good work by Stephen Goff to note that the Astros have re-signed (let's just pause for a quick observation: there is a huge difference between "resign" and "re-sign.") former outfielder-turned-pitcher Yordany Ramirez to a minor-league deal.

Baseball America has the list of other minor leaguers the Astros have re-signed:

RHP Bubbie Buzachero
2B Mike Affronti
OF Lee Cruz

Tranzactionz

Lots of transactions for you from Saturday:

Corpus

Placed Kody Kirkland on the 7-Day DL, and activated Jose Vallejo from the temporarily inactive list.

Lancaster

Bryce Lane assigned to Lancaster from the GCL Astros.

Lane, drafted in the 41st Round this past June, was hitting .202/.232/.213 in 37 games for Greeneville before getting sent to the GCL, where he hit .333/.429/.367 in eight games. So this is curious.

Lexington

Placed pitcher Yordany Ramirez and outfielder Brian Kemp on the temporarily inactive list.

Tri-City

2010 3rd Round pick Austin Wates was assigned to Tri-City.

More on RHP Yordany Ramirez

Within Zach Levine's Minor League Notebook we see the logic behind moving 26-year old Yordany Ramirez to the mound.

Ricky Bennett:
"It came to fruition that now was the right time to take on that challenge. We're not sure where it's going to take us at this point but he's willing to do it and we're going to take the time to see what he can do on the mound."

Ramirez, in nine seasons, is a career .246/.277/.365 hitter, with 419K:87BB. He just isn't a viable prospect as an outfielder (as Levine notes), but I suppose it says something about what the Astros perceive as his athleticism that they're willing to give it a shot.

-JCJ

Tranzactionz

Got some minor-league transactions for you from yesterday and today:

Round Rock
*Jack Shuck promoted from Corpus
*Mark Melancon assigned to Round Rock

Corpus
Via Twitter, Albert Cartwright assigned to Corpus from Lancaster.

Lancaster
*Jose Altuve assigned to Lancaster from Lexington

Lexington
*Barry Butera assigned to Lexington from Lancaster
*Yordany Ramirez assigned to Lexington from Round Rock
*Jimmy Paredes assigned to Lexington

Tri-City
*John Frawley assigned to Tri-City from Greeneville

GCL Astros
*Ebert Rosario assigned to GCL Astros from Lancaster
*Placed RHP Dayan Diaz on 60-Day DL
*Placed C Alfredo Gonzalez on 60-Day DL

Eddie's Farm: July 22

Round Rock

So now the Express can get some runs, huh? Round Rock comes back from 8-7 in the 9th for a 12-8 win over New Orleans on a walk-off grand slam by Yordany Ramirez. Round Rock swept the Zephyrs, scoring 34 runs in the three-game series. Andy Van Hekken threw 5.2IP, 11H/7ER, 3K:4BB, with one of those runs coming courtesy of Jonah Bayliss, who allowed 2H/0ER, 0K:2BB in 2IP. Danny Meszaros, despite allowing the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th, got his first Triple-A win with 1.1IP, 2H/1ER, 2K:0BB. Wladimir Sutil was 4x5 w/3RBI to lead the hit parade. Brian Bogusevic, Edwin Maysonet, Yordany Ramirez, and Brian Esposito had two hits each.

Man of the Match: Gotta give it to the walk-off grand slam guy. Yordany Ramirez.

Corpus

Evan Englebrook allowed two 11th inning home runs, and the Hooks drop 5-2 to Midland. Doug Arguello threw 5IP, 7H/2ER, 5K:4BB in the no-decision (ERA: Now 2.68). Jared Wells got 2K:2BB in 2.1IP, Fernando Abad threw 1.2IP, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB in relief. Englebrook allowed 4H/3ER, 1K:1BB, 2HR in 1.1IP. Nevarez was pulled after walking the first batter he saw, and Jeilen Peguero struck out the last two batters to end the inning. Koby Clemens provided all the offense with a two-run shot - his 22nd of the year - and added another hit and a walk. Marcos Cabral also added two hits, while Jack Shuck was 1x3 with 2BB. J.D. Martinez was 1x5 with 3Ks, but did get an outfield assist at home plate.

Man of the Match: Koby Clemens

Lancaster

Lancaster took a 4-2 lead into the 8th, and allowed two in the 8th and one in the 10th for a 5-4 loss to Visalia. Ross Seaton enjoyed something of a bounceback performance with 7IP, 6H/4ER, 4K:1BB. Brian Wabick was responsible for two of Seaton's runs with 2H in 0.2IP, and David Berner took the loss by allowing one unearned run on three hits and a walk and a fielding error by Mark Ori. Jay Austin, Andy Simunic (2RBI), Lee Cruz, Brandon Barnes (2SB), and Ori (RBI) had two hits each. Federico Hernandez hit his 6th homer of the season.

Man of the Match: Going with Ross Seaton on this one.

Lexington

The Legends took a 3-0 lead at the end of three and then held on for a 3-2 win over Rome. Jose Cisnero threw 6IP, 4H/2ER, 4K:1BB, while Mike Schurz allowed 1H/0ER, 3K:1BB in 2IP, and Kirk Clark recorded his 22nd save of the season. Miguel Arrendell, Rene Garcia and Grant Hogue added two hits each, while Jose Altuve, Jake Goebbert, and Kody Hinze drew two walks each. RBIs came courtesy of Jonathan Meyer (3B), and Renzo Tello.

Man of the Match: Jose Cisnero.

Tri-City

Aberdeen pretty much shut the ValleyCats down in a 3-0 loss. Alex Sogard got the start, allowing 3.1IP, 5H/3ER, 2K:2BB. Murillo Gouvea struck out three in 2.2IP, Adam Champion and Mike Ness threw scoreless innings. Sogard got seven groundball outs, and one flyball out. The ValleyCats were limited to three hits - Enrique Hernandez, Tyler Burnett, and Mike Kvasnicka, also drawing a walk to become the only ValleyCat to get on base twice.

Man of the Match: Mike Kvasnicka

Greeneville

Pitcher's duel in Greeneville last night as the Gastros shutout Bristol 3-0. Ruben Alaniz is one inconsistent son of a gun, throwing 5IP, 5H/0ER, 3K:0BB - one start after lasting 0.2IP, allowing 5H/6ER. Travis Smink (2K), Ryan Cole (0H, 1K), and Paul Gerrish (1BB) held Bristol to 4IP, 1H/0ER, 4K:1BB in relief. The Gastros won despite only getting four hits - a triple from Marcus Nidiffer and Rafael Valenzuela, one from Our Boy Bubby Williams, and one from Bryce Lane - with Valenzuela and Lane providing the RBIs.

Man of the Match: Ruben Alaniz.

GCL Astros

Game 1: Lost 2-0 to the GCL Marlins. Danilo Del Rio threw 7IP, 4H/2R (1ER), 5K:1BB in the losing effort. Roberto Pena and Garen Wright - who also had two stolen bases - provided the only hits of the day.

Man of the Match: Danilo Del Rio

Game 2: Didn't get any better as the GCL Marlins win, 3-1. B.J. Hagen took the loss, despite not allowing an earned run: 3IP, 3H/2R (0ER), 1K:2BB. Nathan Pettus was perfect in the fourth and Rafael Feliz allowed 1H/1ER, 1K:2BB, 2WP in 1IP. Jeremiah Meiners allowed 1H/0ER in 2IP. Ryan Ditthardt had two hits, while the other eight hits were scattered among eight players. Ernesto Genoves provided the only RBI. Chan-Jong Moon was 1x4 with 3K and is hitting .313 on the year.

Man of the Match: Ryan Ditthardt.

Tranzactionz!

July 8

-Yordany Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Round Rock.
-Corpus placed T.J. Steele on the 7-day Dal.
-Assigned Brian Pellegrini to Lancaster from GCL Astros
-Assigned Freddy Parejo to Corpus from Lancaster

Eddie's Farm: May 18

Round Rock

The Express beat the Sky Sox 12-9, completing the game that was suspended Tuesday night. But then, in last night's game, the Express scored three runs in the top of the 9th to tie it at 10-10, but T.J. Burton takes the loss as he allows three hits and a walk in 0.1IP. It's not like anyone pitched well. Wesley Wright gave up 6ER in 3IP (including 0K:5BB). Evan Englebrook gave up 3ER in 3IP. Jonah Bayliss allowed 1ER in 2IP. The Express got six doubles, with Matt Kata going 3x5 and Yordany Ramirez getting two hits and 4RBI. Jason Castro was 1x3 with 2BB. In this series @ Colorado Springs, the Express outscored the Sky Sox 46-36.

Man of the Match: Yordany Ramirez

Corpus Christi

It's almost like a captip from God that Jordan Lyles seems to pitch on nights that Bud Norris pitches. Lyles needed 95 pitches to throw a complete game, 4H/1ER, 5K:1BB outing on his way to a 3-1 win over San Antonio. Jack Shuck and German Duran were 2x4 and Koby Clemens was 1x4 with a homer and three strikeouts.

Man of the Match: Jordan Lyles

Lancaster

Brad Dydalewicz had a much-needed solid outing and the JetHawks beat Rancho Cucamonga 4-2. Dydalewicz threw 5IP, 5H/2R (1ER), 4K:2BB to lower his ERA to 9.11. Mike Modica, Brian Wabick, and David Berner combined for 4IP, 3H/0ER, 4K:0BB. JHay Austin, Freddy Parejo, and Mark Ori were each 2x4, with Ori getting two RBI and Brandon Barnes hitting a solo homer.

Man of the Match: Mark Ori

Lexington

Lexington scored the first three runs of the game, and then held on for a 4-2 win over Greenville for their 7th win in their last nine games. Robby Donovan threw 6IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:1BB. Zach Grimmett gave up two solo homers in 2IP, and Kirk Clark got his 5th save of the season. Kody Hinze was once again the story of the offense, hitting two homers for three RBI. Jose Altuve and Miguel Arrendell stole their 11th and 5th bases of the season, respectively.

Man of the Match: Kody Hinze

Eddie's Farm: April 12

Round Rock

Wild one in Oklahoma City last night as the Express ultimately won in 10 innings, 6-5. Wesley Wright started the game with 4IP, 6H/1ER (2R), 2K:2BB, and the Express took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 9th, when lefty Mitch Moreland hit a 2-run homer off Casey Daigle to tie it up at five. In the 10th, Jason Castro drew a two-out walk and was singled in by Yordany Ramirez for the winning run - and giving Daigle the blown save and the win. Yordany was 3x5 with a SB, homer, and 4RBI, and Bourgeois was 2x5 with two SBs, while Bogusevic, Castro, and Kata had two hits each, as well. Oklahoma City was 5x19 w/RISP, and Castro and Wright each committed errors.

Man of the Match: Yordany Ramirez

Corpus Christi

Errors by Wladimir Sutil and German Duran led to four unearned runs off Jeremy Johnson, which provided the losing margin in an 8-5 loss to NW Arkansas. Johnson threw 2.2IP, 7H/7R (3ER), 1K:1BB, while Erick Abreu (2.1IP) and C-Lo (2IP) both gave up 2ER in their respective outings. Jack Shuck was 3x5, and Steele, Duran, and Sutil had two hits each. Koby Clemens and Jhon Florentino added two RBI each, while Jon Gaston was 0x4 w/3Ks.

Man of the Match: Jack Shuck

Lancaster

The JetHawks were 0x8 w/RISP (call 'em up!) in a 4-2 loss to Lake Elsinore. Shane Wolf threw 5IP, 4H/2ER, and David Berner allowed 4H/2ER in 1.2IP in relief. Brian Wabick had a perfect 1.1IP, and Pat Urckfitz made things interesting by allowing three baserunners in 1IP. Baserunning mistakes contributed to the "Not Enough Runs After Nine Innings" thing: Mark Ori was caught stealing third, and was picked off second, while Jay Austin was picked off first. Albert Cartwright was 3x3 with a walk, and Jay Austin and David Flores had two hits each. Brandon Wikoff remains hitless on the season, but drew a walk and got an RBI.

Man of the Match: Albert Cartwright

Lexington

Dadgum. Lexington was all over Kannapolis (who Intimidated nobody) in a 12-1 win. Brandt Walker threw 5IP, 3H/1ER, 4K:2BB for the win, and Jose Trinidad (3IP, 1H/0ER, 3K) and Dan Sarisky (1IP, 2H/0ER) held it down in relief. The Legends knocked out 15 hits: three from J.D. Martinez (now hitting .476), and Kody Hinze, two from Jiovanni Mier, Jake Goebbert (4RBI), and Rene Garcia as the Legends were 10x17 w/RISP. It didn't make an impact on the runs allowed, but there were two throwing errors, courtesy of Jonathan Meyer and Miguel Arrendell. It was Meyer's fourth error of the season.

Man of the Match: J.D. Martinez

Tranzactionz

And so we learn where some minor-leagers are heading:

To Triple-A:
RHP Evan Englebrook
RHP Jose Valdez
LHP Polin Trinidad
SS Wladimir Sutil
OF Brian Bogusevic
OF Yordany Ramirez

To Double-A:
RHP Matt Nevarez
RHP Henry Villar
LHP Fernando Abad

None of these are terribly surprising. Although if Villar is at Double-A, skipping High-A, it's a good clue for Lyles, Seaton, Dydalewicz, etc...

Jockeying for OF5

Levine has a recap of the battle for OF5, between Yordany, Bogusevic, Sullivan, Romero, and Bourgeois.

Of principal need is someone who is fast to handle games where Bourn gets a day off, and is a defensive replacement for Carlos Lee. And if Blum is in the lineup, there aren't currently any lefties on the bench. So that would help. Cory Sullivan knows this:

"They have an outfield spot open where they would like a lefthanded hitter who can play all three spots and can run a little bit. I think that fits my ability well, and I’ll just go out and do what I can."

And Bogusevic knows that consistency is key for him:

"The main thing is my consistency with my hitting. I have to be able to bring the same thing to the table every day and not be so up and down."

But Levine has a little nugget from Ed Wade:

All three with major league experience are in camp as non-roster invitees, but Wade did not dismiss the possibility that a player already on the Astros’ 40-man roster would survive every cut.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Holy Hannah. It's worse than we thought.

The Astros are actually considering bringing him back.

Ed Wade:
If Willy clears waivers, we would be interested in talking to him about a non-roster opportunity. He would have to come in and compete for one of the extra outfield spots. Because of our familiarity with Willy and the fact that he brings an element of speed, it would make sense to give him an opportunity to at least come in and compete. I wouldn't make any promises beyond giving him a chance to compete."

Look, I've been out of college for eight years now (pause for snivelling) and I know enough that, as a professional, you are to pattern yourself after someone who looks like they know what they're doing. And what did the Oakland A's do immediately upon receiving Willy Taveras? Designated him for assignment. That's not a coincidence.

Circling the Bases has this quote from Ed Wade (via Jerry Crasnick):
"Willy brings the speed element and he's a very popular guy in town and with our organization."

That's false. Patently, I might add.

CTB:
Come to think of it, the perennially disappointing Taveras should fit right in with the Astros' crop of aging, overpaid veterans. It's going to be a long season in oil country.

Chip Bailey has this: The five reasons to sign Willy Taveras. I'll give you the rundown, and you can click it and read the thought process behind each point.

1. $400,000 contract
2. He's fast.
3. He's a good late inning defensive replacement
4. Tradeability
5. Who else are you going to use? Yordany or Bogusevic?

While it may be in Houston's interest to re-sign Taveras, he will likely want to go to a team that will give him a chance to play. Barring a major injury, it's not likely he'll have that opportunity in Houston. Michaels and Darin Erstad managed only 302 at bats between them in 2009 and Willy's poor batting average isn't likely to get him first-hitter-off-the-bench nominations from Brad Mills.

Okay, I can't argue with with the cheap, fast part. But his OPS was .559. .559! Yordany Ramirez should be able to do that. Jeebus, if he can't, drop him like 3rd period French. And he's at least a new face. I thought the problem with the fan's perception of the Astros was that they brought in previously underwhelming retreads. Is there a better definition of that than Willy Taveras? No. I'd rather see Yordany Ramirez strike out 54 times in 49 ABs than see the Astros bring back Willy Taveras. I don't care how cheap and fast he is.

If Taveras comes to Spring Training looking for a job, let's all go down to Kissimmee and help Brian Bogusevic do speed drills. Please, Ed Wade, don't let this happen.

Please, no

Bernardo Fallas' new blog post poses the question, "Should the Astros sign Willy Taveras?"

And while the question is valid, because there's not much else to talk about, Fallas lays out the pros and cons.

Pros:
For one, he is a known commodity.
And he would bolster the outfield depth.
Also, if healthy, he can put up decent numbers - his career high for stolen bases is 68 in 2008. He is a career .276 batter with a .321 OBP.

Cons:
Taveras is due to make good money this year (about $4 million) under the contract he signed with the Reds...
...Also, the Astros don't have room on the 40-man roster and would have only a minor-league spot to offer him. With an invitation to spring training, of course.
And finally, the Astros already signed Cory Sullivan and Jason Michaels for outfield depth. Taveras does provide something the other two don't: speed.

You know who else would fill all of these needs: Yordany Ramirez. Young, cheap, fast. Just look:



I would think about using my Lucky Astros Shirt as a poo-scoop if the Astros entertained the idea of signing Willy Taveras.

Make money money, make money money money!

Brian McTaggart is telling us the following players will be making the following amounts of money in 2010:

Alberto Arias: $415,000
Brian Bogusevic: $400,000
Sam Gervacio: $402,500
Yordany Ramirez: $400,000
Polin Trinidad: $400,000

If you see them on the street, make them buy you a drink.

Joel Roza brings The Depression

Well, it's a mix between depression for the Hooks, and optimism for the fans.

Roza:
When I first got this gig, the first thing I wrote about was the bridge that Corpus Christi, and Double-A in general, forms between the lower minor leagues and The Show and how vital this place was, and would be, to so many ballplayers. Thanks to the Ryan-Sanders team, we get to witness ballplayers in their developmental stages and root them on as our own if and when they reach the pinnacle of their careers elsewhere. On top of that, we get to watch these players develop in a world class, top notch ballpark that holds a high reputation throughout the country.

On the odds of making it to The Big Club:
Only 18% of all minor leaguers ever make it to the big leagues. That’s an enormous fail-rate and one that these players all face on a day-to-day basis.

On the reality of being a minor-league outfielder for Houston:
Yordany Ramirez, Brian Bogusevic, Drew Locke, T.J. Steele (low-A as of 2008), Jon Gaston (high-A as of 2008) and Collin DeLome are all legitimate talent. The odds of at least one of them being major-league ready within the next two years are pretty high. However, unless they change to an infield position or the Astros trade away talent at the big league level, there’s no way they’ll make it to Houston. Carlos Lee is virtually untradeable while Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn are huge talents and still under team control.

On Drew Locke:
He’ll be 27 in February, so two years seems to be a decent bet. He’s doesn’t qualify as a “prospect” at this point and he’s not rated in the Top 10 in terms of total organizational talent. The odds of him becoming anything more than a brief September call-up in Houston are slim to none at this point. He could however make it onto a low-budget major league roster if he continues his solid play. All in all though, his chances don’t look good. He blossomed too late and we won’t know until this season gets cooking if last season was a fluke or not.

There are a lot of other notes, and you should really read the article, but it's a pretty stark reality for the minor-leaguers.

Ed Wade thinks this week is better than last week

Brian McTaggart's new article has some new-found optimism from Ed Wade, as well as an update on any more potential moves this off-season:

Wade:
"If there's an opportunity to pull some more guys off the list of free agents or do something from a trade standpoint that makes sense, we'll do it. Anything we do going forward will have to have roster ramifications, and in all likelihood the types of offers we make between now and the beginning of Spring Training will be of the non-roster variety. There's still a couple of guys that we have been interested in all winter, and there's a chance we'll add one or two of them to add more depth. We've been aggressive in the six-year free-agent market and brought in some guys, not only to help the Round Rock club, but also to possibly help the big league club as well."

The biggest change in personnel is going to be at Round Rock, says Wade:
"There's a good chance over half the Triple-A club could be different, coming from outside the organization."

Ricky Bennett:
Most of them have Major League experience, and you mix that with some of the guys we had in Triple-A last year like Ramirez, Bogusevic -- and Collin Delome could be in the mix depending on what happens at the Major League level -- we've got a chance to have a very a competitive club. We have some depth we haven't had in recent years."

Within this piece, we also see that the Astros have re-signed Roy Corcoran and Jeremy Johnson.

McTaggart's Inbox

McTaggart posted his newest inbox yesterday. Of course this was the day I was 80 miles north of Houston with no internet access. What can we learn?

-I do think the Astros are one good starting pitcher away from contending for the playoffs, but it doesn't appear as if it will happen.

-Let's see how these guys respond to new leadership in Brad Mills, and don't rule out the possibility that Ed Wade really is applying a thoughtful blueprint like the Phillies followed to become what they are.

How might the Opening Day roster shake out?
-At this point it appears Johnson will likely begin the season at Round Rock and start at third base. You'll probably see Drew Locke, Brian Bogusevic and Yordany Ramirez in the outfield and Jason Castro at catcher if he doesn't make the big club. Also keep an eye on outfielder Collin DeLome and infielder Drew Meyer. Among the pitchers who could be in Round Rock: Fernando Abad, Chia-Jen Lo and Polin Trinidad.